Apple Pie Steve
by Imperio-youloveme
Summary: "Steve smiled, with teeth and everything because, wasn't she just fantastic? She knew he was Captain America, and yet she still wanted to know Apple Pie Steve, the man with a routine and a schedule and a sketchpad."-Where Steve Rogers falls in love with the woman who likes Steve first and Captain America second.
1. Chapter 1

Apple Pie Steve

Steve Rogers was fascinated by the 21st century. Contrary to what Tony Stark liked to divulge, he did, in fact, rather like technology. Perhaps he was not adequate at handling even the most basic forms of technology (he was still apologizing for the burnt toaster), but he marveled at the ingenuity of these foreign machines even if he could not really use them. They were a shock and new and so very different from the appliances (or lack thereof) he had grown up with during the depression.

Technology was not the only new thing that amazed him, however. In fact, it was the women of the 21st century that captivated Steve the most. It was not as if he disliked the liberties women had now, in fact, he thought it fitting of the times and was rather happy to see more Peggy Carter's in the world. It certainly wasn't the manners in which women now dressed, because even if he was dubbed the Virginal Good Boy by Tony Stark, he was also a man and he knew when to appreciate trousers on a woman. No, what captivated him the most was boldness which some of the women he'd met oozed.

Never mind that he's seen women do unspeakable things to a pole thanks to Tony Stark (and it seemed all bad things in Steve's life were authored by Tony Stark), or that he'd had some of them make him feel naked and, dare he admit it, _raped_ by just one stare. But it was the bluntness of some of these women he encountered, asking him on dates, or even casual sexual encounters (he would always forget how to properly speak when this was asked) that amazed him. What was more amazing, Steve marveled, was that these women did not even know he was Captain America, and yet still flocked to him for whatever reason.

Since the New York incident, Steve was happy to know that the public did not know that Captain America and Steve Rogers were one of the same. Since the attacks by Loki and the Chitauri had been so dense and wild and downright chaotic, camera crews were not able to capture his naked face. The only pictures of him were with his mask in place, and so, Steve Rogers was just like any other man. Except, like previously stated, women somehow found him attractive.

Steve supposed that, were he to be more interested in the topic of psychology, he would be able to trace the fact that he still felt like the 90 pound, asthmatic-and-every-other-disease-known-to-man-kind Steve that he was before the serum to his lingering lack of confidence with women. He was insecure, he could admit in the solitude of his thoughts, and it was strange to have women want him when back in the 40's the most he'd get from women were disgusted and pitied looks pre-serum.

And then there was the woman from the coffee shop. She was the one that did not confound, or amaze him. She was tall, curvy in a way that said she did not do diets like Pepper Potts, pale with long brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail and brown eyes that spoke of sincerity. After she'd smiled for the first time, took his coffee order and called him 'Sir' (an oddity in the 21st century, he had already established since she was the only person aside from JARVIS, Tony's AI, that still used the term), she'd gone and done the same for the man and woman at the table next to his. Now, Steve was not vain, but it felt weird to not have her stammering or casually slipping her phone number under his napkin like all the women Steve had met so far.

And he liked that.

So, he became a frequent customer, always arriving at 8:00am on the dot after his morning at the gym and shower, and always ordering a black coffee and piece of apple pie (which, he was painfully aware, if Tony found out would only create a monster made up of bad jokes with the words "America" and "Apple Pie" in every single one of them).

She had been cordial the first few mornings, with her smiles and 'Sir's" until she realized that he might just become a permanent. It was then, when Steve had gone almost every morning for two consecutive weeks, and ordering the same items off the menu, that she'd grinned and commented something along the lines of routines and being glad someone else loved apple pie as much as she did.

That seemed to break the ice, and Steve had soon found out that her name was Charlotte, she worked every morning at the café, and that she was currently a student at NYU on scholarship because, "Zeus' knows I can't afford a school like that to save my life." And he was just Steve, the Army-Guy who liked routine and schedules and liked being polite. He was not Captain America, just Steve, and he was in love.

Of course, Steve should have realized that smiling more than usual and completely zoning out in the middle of Director Fury's debriefing would have attracted attention to himself. But he did not, since his thoughts were only on the way Charlotte's eyes lit up when he'd say something particularly nice or funny, and how she'd stopped calling him Sir and he was now just Steve and she was not Ma'am, but just Charlotte, and the sketchbook he'd just purchased the month prior was already half filled with portraits of her, smiling, or listening intently to someone making an order, lower lip caught between her teeth and forehead scrunched in concentration. And he could not even begin to contemplate the detail he'd put in capturing the scrunch of her nose when she was talking about something particularly scandalizing or maddening.

And like in every other aspect of his life since joining the Avengers, Tony Stark made sure to butt his nose into what he should not have.

Steve arrived at exactly 8:00am at the café and seated himself at the same table he always did, picking up the small menu and reading it more out of habit than anything else. He saw Charlotte taking the orders off a table full of what looked like foreigners, as they were all pointing at menus while her forehead scrunched in concentration, pointing at things in the menu and gesticulating portion size and such. Steve smiled to himself and prepared for the interesting conversation she would bring around once she got to his table.

And then the bell above the café's door announced the arrival of someone and Steve stopped breathing from a combination of mortification and anger. Tony Stark swaggered in, in a plain shirt and jeans with Bruce Banner tailing behind him, shooting Steve an apologetic look, and he knew that the doctor had come for damage control, rather than to cause misery, and wasn't that a small miracle to be thankful for?

"Steve!" Tony waved, a small smirk promising chaos on his face, and a knowing look in his eyes that said he was well aware that he was causing a scene, and, that, yes, that was exactly what he was looking for.

By the time Tony and Bruce walked the few feet between the entrance and Steve's table, the whole café had already realized that The Tony Stark was about to have lunch at this particular café, and didn't phones now have cameras? It took twenty minutes of signing napkins, taking selfies and meeting the manager of the café who promised a free breakfast for Tony and his two friends and the closing of the café so that, "Mr. Stark can have a peaceful and enjoyable breakfast without the fuss," before the excitement became a mild buzz within the now closed café and those lucky enough to have arrived before Tony Stark.

During all of this, Steve's eyes could not leave Charlotte, and the way she hung back from the chaos, nose scrunched at times (and God, was that adorable, Steve couldn't help thing), and whose eyes kept darting to and from Tony Stark, Steve and Bruce, and he knew that she was so bright, bright enough to figure out what Tony Stark's presence meant. At the sudden widening of her eyes when the manger had called her over to take their table's ordering and the nose scrunch when she narrowed her eyes at Steve, he knew she knew.

"Good morning, my name's Charlotte and I'll be taking your orders today. What can I get you?" Was the first thing she said, and, for the first time since he's first met her, her brown eyes were not meeting any other eyes. In fact, they were neutrally placed on her small notepad.

Tony's devious look between Charlotte and Steve, and the following eyebrow waggling had Steve thinking that maybe being Captain America was not all it was cracked up to be as committing murder was looking more and more appealing as the seconds passed in Tony's presence.

"What's good to eat here, Sweetcheeks?" Tony asked with a wide, Cheshire cat grin on his face. Steve heard the distinct sound of Bruce's foot kicking Tony's shin but the mechanic gave no inclination of feeling it.

"Just Charlotte, please. And, I'd personally recommend the apple pie, but the croissants with jam are good as well." Charlotte looked straight at Tony as she said this, and Steve knew the newfound fire in her eyes was there because of the nickname.

"I'll have the croissants and maybe some green tea, if you have any?" Bruce intercepted before Tony could say anything else (much less make a comment on the apple pie, since they all knew that would be what he would latch onto first), and Charlotte smiled wanly at him, asking how he took his tea.

"I want a sandwich. As greasy and meaty as you can make it. No mayo. No vegetables of any kind. And black coffee as strong as you can get it." Tony suddenly spoke, derailing the attention back to himself.

"We don't-" Charlotte began, but was cut off by her manager.

"Of course! We don't usually serve sandwiches until noon, but it wouldn't do to have customers of such caliber unhappy. Right, Charlotte?"

"Yep." Was the crypt reply before she jotted down the order and turned to Steve with a raised eyebrow. "The usual?"

Steve wanted to say a lot of things. He wanted to apologize (although he wasn't entirely sure what for aside from Tony's attitude), and wanted to tell her that he was still just Steve, and well, yes, Captain America too, but that he promised that if she'd just go on one date with him, he'd make sure no one, not even Tony Stark, would get to her.

Instead, Steve swallowed thickly and nodded heavily. Their eyes met and she smiled a small smile, almost sad, and left after saying she would be back with their orders in a few minutes.

"I am so sorry, Steve. We tried to tell him this was stupid-"

"This is not stupid! I'm trying to hook Steve up with our fine Charlotte. And don't give me the kicked puppy look, Cap'n, you should really keep your sketches better hidden, and your navigational system on your phone turned off. You made this too easy. Ow! Bruce, stop it! My shins are already purple!"

Steve sighed and resigned to never seeing Charlotte again over Bruce's admonishing and Tony's excuses, his anger subsiding and just becoming a nauseous feeling at the prospect of unrequited love (which, in retrospect, could have been the title of his life story pre-serum).

And then, because life has never and will never be normal for Steve Rogers, Charlotte came back out of the kitchen door with a platter with two black coffees and a tea on top of it, expertly maneuvering between the tables around her before the man on the table besides Steve's scooted back and Charlotte and the steaming drinks went flying.

And with the same luck that followed him whenever Tony Stark was in the room, the coffees and the tea land all on him, Charlotte gracelessly draped over the man's lap. There was silence for a few pregnant seconds before Steve realized just how hot the liquid running down his face and chest was, Tony realized how amusing the situation was, and Bruce pushed Tony out of the booth onto the floor so that he could asses Steve's burn while Charlotte stared wide eyed at Steve from across the man's lap.

Chaos ensued again as the manager grabbed Charlotte by her arm and dragged her from the stunned man's lap, all the while yelling about firing her and how utterly stupid she was. People began pulling out phones, documenting the whole thing as Tony's laughter subsided altogether, Steve saw red, and Charlotte's eyes filled to the brim with tears as she yanked herself from her manager's grip.

Again, a pregnant pause before Steve walked calmly to the manager, sidestepping Charlotte and her trembling chin, before punching the man in the jaw. Silence again was pierced by Tony's amused snort and the flashing of phone cameras.

"Are you alright, Charlotte?" Steve asked, turning away from the man on the floor.

Her eyes were still wide, a few tears having escaped as she nodded.

Steve nodded in response, a little awkwardly, now having come down from the adrenaline and not knowing how to proceed.

"Your face. It's, um, burnt. I think? I'm sorry." Charlotte said, stepping closer to him and moving as if to touch his face, second guessing herself at the last second and letting her arm fall to her side.

"It's fine. I heal fast. You know, because of the whole…thing." Steve said, hoping that she understood that he knew that she knew that he was Captain America and that he was fine with it if she was.

Her forehead scrunched in confusion, "What thing?"

Bruce intercepted before Steve could respond, "Alright, folks. Nothing to see here. If you'd just follow me outside…" His suggestion was swallowed among the protests of those who wanted to know what was going on until Tony stood up from where he had landed and stayed when Bruce pushed him, and exclaimed, "I got the suit outside. Free pictures, come on, people, nothing to see in here."

Once everyone had rushed outside, Bruce sighed, muttering, "He doesn't have the suit, that stupid man," before leaving the café with shy smile towards Steve and Charlotte as he exited.

"What thing?" Charlotte asked him again once Bruce had closed the door behind him.

"The Cap-wait, no, what do you think I'm talking about?"

"I'm not sure I know. I mean, just because you're Tony Stark's best friend or whatever doesn't make you heal faster, I think. I mean, no matter how much people idolize him, I doubt the man has any divine powers-"

"What? Wait, no, I don't-is that the conclusion you came to when Tony was causing all that commotion when he first came in?"

"What?" She asked, confusion all over her face.

"When your eyes when all wide while you were looking at us. I thought-I thought maybe you had found out who I really am-"

"What do you mean what you really are? And no! I-" Here, Charlotte blushed a pretty pink, lowering her gaze to the floor. "I just thought, that, I don't know. That I kind of liked you and I thought you kind of liked me back, but, well, I wasn't too sure because I have to experience with the opposite sex at all, and that you knew Tony Stark, and quite intimately if he was having breakfast with you and all I could think of was that you were now a hundred more times out of my league than before and that I should probably just not ever be near you again-"

"I like you too." Steve blurted, the tips of his ears bright red, a shy smile on his face.

Charlotte smiled shyly back at him, pulling a piece of stray brown hair behind her ear.

The manager on the floor groaned and the attention was diverted towards his squirming form.

"Wait, you still haven't told me what you thought I thought I knew." Charlotte said suddenly, her attention turned towards Steve again, who had moved closer in case he had to punch the man again.

Steve decided that, for once, he had choices to make. He could very well tell her a small lie, say that he is Tony's partner in business, or son (that one made no sense even to him, but he figured Tony could be old enough to be his father). This option would allow him to court her (he wasn't too sure that was a term used anymore) and maybe create some quasi normal transvestite of a normal life before he laid it out that he was not, in fact, having an affair, but actually saving the earth from maniacs, and, wow, did his train of thought escalate quickly. Or he could tell her the truth, so that when he was injured or late to a date or gone to who-knows-where on SHIELD assignments she knew exactly what he was doing. It gave her the choice of saying that, no, she would very much not like to start a relationship with a superhero before things got too complicated. Before it was so late that her leaving meant devastation.

He steeled himself, and drew out a bit of Captain America into his person so that some form of bravery would help him say what he needed to say. "I'm actually Captain America, ma'am-erm, Charlotte. Sorry, Captain America says ma'am a lot." He smiled nervously down at her.

There was a long silence and Steve would be lying if he did not say that he suddenly hated silences.

Charlotte took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eye when she said, "Ok."

Steve was dumbfounded until she smiled brightly at him. "Ok. Fine. So you're Captain America. I'm Charlotte, from Arizona. I love thunderstorms, and dogs and am currently disemployed." She smiled again and extended her hand towards him.

"I'm Capt-"

"No. You're Steve. Captain America is your description."

Steve smiled, with teeth and everything because, wasn't she just fantastic? She knew he was Captain America, and yet she still wanted to know Apple Pie Steve, the man with a routine and a schedule and a sketchpad.

"I'm Steve, from Brooklyn. I love sketching, and apple pie, and am currently living half of my life in disemployment."

"Captain America probably has a lot of work."

"Sometimes."

"But you're not-I mean, that is to say, Steve-is not busy for dinner tonight?" She asked, and Steve decided he liked this kind of bluntness in the women of the 21st century.

"Never for you, ma'am. Sorry, Charlotte." Steve chuckled. "Steve says ma'am a lot too."


	2. Chapter 2

Steve Rogers came to the realization that falling in love in the 21st century was quite easy. Or maybe falling in love with Charlotte was easy? He wasn't too sure, as she was the first woman he had truly been in love with. Of course, there had been Peggy, strong, beautiful Peggy from the '40's, when Steve was another man, and time did not allow for the slow process of truly falling in love, rather, it only allowed time for crushes and failed dates. It did not allot time to the sluggish pace of falling in love.

Because that is what it truly was. Falling in love was easy, but slow, Steve concluded. Except it was sort of different than slow. It was slow, painstakingly so, at first, and then it was there. Sort of like falling asleep with a racing mind. Lightning fast at first, with a head full of thoughts, some rational, some completely irrational. And then, sleep. Just suddenly, out of nowhere, love was there, the kind that was happy and sometimes painful, but oh so worth it.

Their first date wasn't the night that Charlotte was fired. In fact, it was not the night after, nor the week after. It took a whole month before Steve was able to properly take Charlotte out on a date. The first night, the Avengers had been called into action to fight something or another (really, all these mad scientists and their havoc wreaking experiments were blurring at this point from the sheer amount of them). Thankfully, Charlotte had given him her number so that he could call if a change of plans took place. And when he'd called, she'd merely laughed, an easy-going kind of laugh, and told him she'd wait for him and to have fun-

"um. Safe. Not fun. I meant, be safe. I' pretty sure what you're going to do is not going to be fun, although if you wanted to make it fun, I'm not judging."

And Steve had laughed and told her he'd have fun and that he would stay safe, and that he'd called when he got back.

Only, when he got back, he'd probably had an hour before he was asked to travel with Natasha to Finland on a mission that, to be honest, he didn't even know what it entailed. It seemed Natasha knew so too, since she'd told him to just fight when the time came. And he did.

That had taken a week to take care of, with another two spent in Russia in what Natasha had called a "diplomatic mission. No big deal," but had actually turned out to be the sort of mission where Steve used his shield and the gun Natasha had given to him at the beginning far too many times. They'd come out alive, with only minor scrapes and a deep set exhaustion that provided Steve with a full 48 hours of continuous sleep.

So when he'd finally gotten around to calling Charlotte about a date (and, yes, Steve knew how to use a phone, thank you), Steve was expecting rejection, a full on refusal to sharing a life with a man that postponed dates until further notice, and was in the line of fire one hundred percent of the time.

"You're not dead! I figured I'd hear if you were, anyway-in the news or something," was the first thing she said when he called, and, man, was he rendered completely speechless.

"uh, you still there, Steve?" She'd asked when he hadn't responded for a while.

"Yes. Yeah. I'm not dead. I'm sorry about the not calling, I was a bit busy," and there. He'd ruined it, because he was pretty sure that he was not supposed to say that he was too busy to call a girl, and God, did he feel like melting into the sidewalk.

"It's fine. Busy is good. I've been busy too, what with midterms and all that. And, oh! I got a job. Finally! Still waitressing, but I don't mind. I like meeting people," Steve could picture her smiling, and he smiled in turn.

"I'll have to relocate my breakfast place, then." He almost punched himself. Really? Follow her like a stalker. Because that is what Charlotte was thinking, Steve was sure. He was a stalker, and he could not backpedal on that one.

But Charlotte laughed, and said, "I'll give you that address when I see you next…I mean, you still want to do dinner with me, right? Because if you don't, that's completely fine, I'll just-"

"No! Of course I want to still have dinner with you. How about tonight?"

"Yeah, sure! I-uh-yeah. Where? I can maybe meet you there?"

And Steve refused to meet her, because he was a gentleman, and this was a date, and he would pick her up and walk her back home and be completely gentlemanly like his mother had raised him, thank-you-very-much.

So the plans were set, and she'd given him directions to the small apartment she rented with two other people, and he was going on a date. His first date ever, since Bucky's poor attempts at setting him up always left him as a chaperon, not a date, and would he need a chaperon? Did people still do that?

"What are you, twelve? No!" And he realized asking Tony Stark had been a bad idea but Natasha was out of town on a mission somewhere with Clint, Bruce was in India again doing doctor stuff, Thor was pretty unreachable in another realm, and Steve was not going to ask Nick Fury about 21st century dating protocols.

"What you do is this, Cap, and listen well, because Tony Stark doesn't give love advice for free-" and Steve refused to listen to the rest, quickly tuning the man out before he'd hear too much.

In the end, Steve decided to just take her out to dinner to a small Italian restaurant he and the rest of the Avengers had ventured into once after battling killer robots. The food was good, Steve knew, and it was small enough to be private, and cozy. They could talk and maybe he would not make a complete fool out of himself.

Steve stood at her door at exactly 7:00 pm that Thursday night , dressed in a pair of khaki slacks and a navy button down shirt, his leather jacket pulling it all together. He'd briefly played with the idea of wearing his army uniform, but he'd reminded himself that this was the 21st century and, no, people probably didn't dress like that on the first date.

She'd open the door quickly enough, with an excited smile and a breathless, "hello," before she grabbed his hand, closed the door behind her and led him back down the stairs of the apartment complex.

Once outside, she'd let go of his hand and tuned to him.

"Sorry, my roommates were having an intense game of ping pong on our dining table, and I figured that'd be too much for you to witness on a first date."

But Steve was still speechless, because, yes, she'd held his hand, and wasn't that just one of the greatest feeling he'd ever had?

"You're left completely speechless that easy, huh?" she smiled, and Steve slapped himself internally. He finally took a good look at her, and noticed that her hair was down, the first time he'd seen it that way, in a wild mess of brown waves. She was wearing a simple, knee length navy blue dress, a black leather jacket on top, and a pair of worn looking brown ankle boots, and Steve didn't think he'd seen a more beautiful woman ever.

"Sorry, I was running a bit late and my hair gives a whole new definition to the word stubborn. I hope I'm not under dressed?" She was blushing and Steve realized he'd been staring for too long.

"You look beautiful." He'd said sincerely, and the shy smile and red cheeks that greeted his compliment did not allow him to berate himself for saying such a bold thing.

"You do too," she turned a darker shade of red and Steve smiled in amusement, "Not beautiful, handsome. You look handsome. Although, I mean, you can be beautiful if you prefer…I'll be shutting up now."

Steve laughed and told her he hoped she wouldn't and led her over to his motorcycle.

"I hope you don't mind riding a motorcycle. I don't exactly know how to drive a car," and she was wearing a dress, and good going Steve, she's going to think you're trying to pull something. "If you wanted to change into pants…"

"What? No, I have shorts underneath, see?" She lifted her dress to show him a pair of black spandex shorts and the world suddenly turned into the Sahara Desert, and it was hot, so hot-why was it hot?

Charlotte seemed to notice this and quickly smoothed down her dress and made a funny sort of noise that Steve wasn't sure was not despair incarnated.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I'm just-it's just. Sorry. I'm awkward." She finished and looked at him as if doing so would explain what she just did.

"It's fine." Was all he said because, well, he was awkward too but he didn't think he could quite voice it out like she could.

But dinner had been better. After they settled down, Charlotte had not hesitated in telling him that she'd have to call her mother and tell her she'd gotten on a motorcycle, and that the woman would probably have a heart attack. Steve had tried to apologize, but Charlotte had laughed in her own sort of way, the kind that made Steve feel like it really all was alright and her mother having a heart attack was no big deal.

"I'm just letting you know, I'm not a salad kind of girl," she'd told him when the menus had arrived.

Steve smiled. "I guess I'll let you know that I eat the equivalent of a week's worth of food in one sitting."

"Surprisingly, that's not impressive. I have two younger brothers, both of whom are about your size. It'll take a lot to impress me, Steve."

And talking was made easy with Charlotte. One minute they were talking about her brothers, both in college, although she was due to graduate that May while they were barely starting. Then, she was talking about old literature classics, and Steve was able to follow because what else was there to do when he spent most of his childhood indoors? And she loved Dickens, and he didn't, but that was fine because he loved Shakespeare and she was not a big fan of him. And then she was talking about politics and sounding smart, and, well, Steve was barely keeping up with the conversation at that point, but she was patient and explained everything she said.

"Half the people I meet, including my family, never follow along when I talk politics. I've just learned to explain as I talk," she'd told him before she'd asked him about his drawings.

And that had been his turn to begin talking about his favorite painters, and she'd smiled while he talked and asked questions about his favorite painters and the kind of drawings he did.

"People, mostly. I haven't had much time for sight-seeing lately, which is usually what gives me inspiration."

"I love people watching! Do you do that to get ideas for drawing people?"

How was he supposed to explain that, no, he did not people watch? In fact, he just watched her, and pictured her countless times in his head and drew her from memory.

"I guess. I haven't sat and just watched people in a while, if that's what you're saying," he said, because he was not going to tell her he had a sketchbook full of her face.

"You haven't lived! It's the best. You just sit there and watch. I guess it's not so great, but it's fun when you have some time in your hands," she said, and then asked, "you'll have to show me your drawings sometime, maybe?"

And he'd agreed because she'd looked so hopeful, and maybe he'd have to spend some time drawing other people before he showed her anything.

It was not until they were sitting with small cups of strong coffee and two pieces of cheesecake between them that Captain America came up.

"So, I didn't want to ask before because of privacy, but now I just feel rude for not even mentioning it, but, anyway. How…did-was everything fine this last month? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I'm on a date with Steve Rogers, after all." She'd asked over the brim of her small coffee mug.

Steve smiled because she was on a date with him, and not Captain America, and that was the first time she'd mentioned him that night. So he launched into the story of his month, without revealing information that could potentially get her in trouble, but enough to keep her eyes wide and impressed. He'd be a liar of he didn't admit he kind of enjoyed seeing the amazement in her eyes when he retold his month.

After dinner turned into a rather long process. She was adamant about paying since she'd asked him for dinner a month ago in the first place, "remember?" and he refused to let her pay because he was a gentleman and gentlemen paid for the meal at the end. Except he didn't say that because he didn't think saying he was a gentleman out loud would actually be a gentlemanly thing to do, so he settled for reminding her that this was a date, and he would like to pay, "please." She'd sighed and let him hand the waiter the bill (which he hadn't let her see in the first place) with the little plastic card SHIELD had assured him was now a form of currency. She'd gone without protest after that, smiling at the waiter and thanking him on the way out, and if she noticed that Steve noticed when she placed a few bills on the table before leaving, she didn't comment on it.

They had stood at the front of her apartment door, where Steve could hear a man and a woman arguing loudly over what he could only assume was the ping pong match Charlotte had mentioned before when Steve realized that he had successfully gone through his first real date.

"Ping pong is taken very seriously in our apartment." Charlotte told him as she smiled sheepishly up at him.

He smiled back because sparring matches turned ugly at SHIELD when any of the Avengers were involved, and he could relate.

"Can I see you again?" He asked after a moment.

"Of course. I thought we had established I'm seeing that sketchbook of yours," she smiled a teasing smile and Steve laughed because he was happy. "You mentioned you've never been to the MET. We could go? I went there my freshman year because of a school assignment, but I honestly didn't pay much attention."

Steve agreed and they had a second date. There was no kiss on their first date, just a hug that Steve cherished to a near embarrassing level, but he was beyond happy.

Steve found out the way love worked on their seventh date. He'd liked Charlotte a lot on their first six dates, finding it easy to make her laugh by just being himself and he found himself doing a lot of laughing and smiling himself. He could not think of any other time in his life, even pre-freezing, that he'd been so truly, and utterly happy.

So he'd established that he liked her. A lot. And she's told him that she liked him a lot too.

And then the seventh date came around. They'd been walking around central park, holding hands, for half an hour now, as this was Charlotte's first morning off in a while and she insisted on going outside even with the brisk November air, when Iron Man had landed in front of the pair seemingly out of nowhere.

"Killer robots. Again. Honestly, you'd think they'd get that this is getting old fast. We need you Cap." He'd said and all Steve could do was turn to Charlotte to ask if it was alright if he left in the middle of their date when she'd frowned at him.

"I swear, Steve, if you ask, I might have to punch you. Go. I'll be fine. Call me when you can?" She looked him straight in the eye, daring him to say no to her.

Distantly, Steve heard an inappropriate whipping sound coming from what he could only assume was Iron Man, but he chose to ignore it in favor of looking at Charlotte.

"Ok. I'll get somebody to pick you up-"

"I'll be fine. I'll get on the subway-no, don't frown-and go back home. I have homework, anyway. Go." She urged again. "And stay safe. You too, Mr. Stark."

Before Tony could come up with witty retort to her heed, a small explosion was heard in the distance. "Time to go, Cap."

"Go." Charlotte said again, hugging him briefly, and kissing his cheek. Steve smiled and let Tony grab him by the middle, flinching only briefly at the feeling of free falling before he was stabilized in midair.

The battle was easy enough since killer robots had become a regular opponent as of lately, so there were no wounds to tend to after the battle, and only minimal clean-up.

"Rogers. In the van. Now." Nick Fury's voice came through the small communication device in his ear.

"Ooh. Someone's in trouble." Came Tony's voice soon after.

"You too, Stark. Everyone, in the van." Was Nick Fury's response.

It was not until he was watching Charlotte having a stare down with Agent Maria Hill through a one way window that he realized that he was not about to be debriefed.

"I'm going to ask again, are you dating Captain America?" Steve heard the agent ask with her signature glare.

"Nope. I already said so, Ms. Hill, I am dating Steve Rogers." Charlotte answered with a glare herself.

"So you're dating Steve Rogers?"

"Yes…?" Charlotte responded, making it sound like a question, although irritation was clearly shown on her face.

"And are you aware that Steve Rogers and Captain America are the same person?"

"Well, if I didn't before, I do now, don't I?" Charlotte answered, and Tony snorted from beside Steve.

"What is she doing here? Get her out, she has nothing to do with anything," Steve tried opening the door to the room, finding it locked. "You have three seconds to open that door before I rip it open myself." Steve glared at Nick Fury, who looked furious with the situation.

"You will do no such thing, Captain. She is being interrogated-"

"Why?" Steve asked, voice hard as steel.

"She knows too much, and she is now of interest to SHIELD-"

"Because she's dating me. With all due respect, sir, that is a bunch of bologna. I have made sure she knows nothing other than the fact that I am Captain America. This is none of SHEILD's business-"

"Everything you do, Captain, is our business," Nick Fury's one eye glared at Steve, but the effect was lost with the background yelling of Charlotte.

"Look it here, lady! You've confiscated my bag, I'm pretty sure illegally, and have kept me in a room for the last five hours asking the same exact questions, and getting the exact same answers. I've asked for a lawyer and you've denied me one-again, illegal. I am two seconds from peeing my pants because I had to go, like, yesterday, and you're glaring is getting real old, real fast. Let. Me. Go." Charlotte's glare intensified with the raising of her voice, a deep flush covering her face.

And Steve had had enough, because Charlotte was not supposed to be here, and really, a one eyed glare was not as effective as it should be, so he rammed his shoulder into the door, effectively opening it with a loud bang. Charlotte's startled gaze met his, and something akin to relief showed in her face, before she turned to Maria Hill and glared again, saying, "Excuse me," as she began walking towards Steve.

This was where she would break up with him, Steve was sure, because who wanted to be bullied by a secret organization just for dating him? No one, Steve was sure was the answer, and he'd be lying if he didn't feel that he was already heartbroken even before Charlotte reached his side.

But, like just about everything Charlotte did and said that confused Steve, he was dumbfounded when she took him by the hand when she reached him and began pulling him out the door and into the hallway where the rest of the Avengers and Nick Fury stood. She stopped dead when she saw the bunch, visibly inching closer to Steve's side, and her hand squeezing his harder, when he stopped beside her. Nick Fury's glare pointed directly at her probably wasn't helping, so he pulled a glare of his own, daring the director to say anything.

Just as Steve was getting ready to lay it on the Director about how he had no say on Steve's personal life and the people in it (which really was not going to be as dramatic as it sounded, rather, it would have been rather anticlimactic, with Steve storming off with Charlotte in tow), he heard Charlotte sigh from his side. She was the first to speak.

"That was kind of rude. Actually, that was super rude and a total dick move. I don't really appreciate being kidnapped on the way to the subway. Or on my way to anything, really. Also, I'd like to get my bag back," After a pause, where no one said anything, she said, "and I'd like to know where the nearest restroom is…please." She added as an afterthought to the group. Her voice sounded tired, and worn, but with a hint in it that warned anyone that she was not about to put up with more trouble.

"I'll take you." Natasha, as expected, was the first one to respond, gracefully walking past the dumbfounded men, leading Charlotte past the Director, who had let go of Steve's with a relieved smile and a quiet, "thank you," to Natasha.

"I like her," piped Tony as soon as the women turned the corner. That seemed to wake everyone up.

"Ten bucks says she breaks up with Cap by tomorrow." Clint said next, grinning widely, but without malice.

"Oh, come on! Have some faith," Tony grinned back, "I give it a month."

Bruce groaned and sent an apologetic look at Steve, "Tony-"

But Steve cut him off, saying, "she stays out of this, Fury," and stalked off in the direction the women went, giving no time for anyone to argue.

He caught up with them as Charlotte was exiting the restroom, Natasha right behind her. Charlotte smiled when she saw him and turned to Natasha, "thank you…for bringing me to the restroom, I mean."

Natasha nodded with a small smirk, caught Steve's eyes and nodded again before telling Charlotte that she would get her bag as she walked away.

"I'm sorry. You should not have been brought into this." And, yes, he knew that he looked and sounded pathetic, and desperate, but he wanted this relationship. He wanted Charlotte, and, darn it, he deserved to be selfish once in a while, was he not? He knew the minute he was enlisted into the army and injected with the serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America that he would have to sacrifice everything. And he had, had he not? He'd given up his life, and even a budding relationship with Peggy. If he gave up 70 years of his life, why could he not have just one thing? Why could he not just have Charlotte?

Charlotte's eyes softened, and she gave him the small, almost sad, smile that he had come to understand was her way of telling him she understood. He'd received that smile every time he had to cut a date short, or cancel on her because Captain America was needed. "It's not your fault. I mean, yeah, but it's not like I didn't know who you are before I went on that first date with you. If anything, this was more of a small inconvenience, and I now get the privilege of saying I have been interrogated by a government agency. Honestly, I'm a political science major. This is sort of a dream come true, knowing that the government has secrets. It's probably supposed to be a big secret, I know, but I didn't sign anything," Charlotte smiled and interlaced her hand with his, her brown eyes telling Steve that she was teasing about speaking up, "Anyway, I don't scare easily. And I don't let go of people easily. You're stuck with me for a while, I'm afraid."

And Steve fell over the precipice, into a deep, warm, and comfortable sleep, and just like that, he was in love.

"Be my girl." Was what came out of his mouth, and was instantly horrified. Firstly, he was pretty sure (actually, he was one hundred percent sure) that he was supposed to ask, not demand. Secondly, did she even want to go steady with him? Was that how it worked these days? They'd only gone on seven dates, and had not shared anything more than hugs and kisses on the cheek. Maybe it was too early? She'd told him she didn't mind a slow pace when he'd told her the sort of slow pace his time period had ingrained in him. Thirdly, wow, he was impressed with himself for not saying that he was in love, because even he knew he had to wait more time before he said such powerful words. Lastly, he would not be surprised if she slapped him. Because she'd made sure that he knew that he was independent and her own person, and, God, he'd just demanded that he be her owner-or at least he thought that would be how she would take it.

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, and smiled teasingly, "is that a 40's thing?"

Steve could only nod.

Charlotte laughed, and looked at him with the brightest smile and bright eyes that told him she was not making fun of him, or the idea, but rather, that she was happy. So he let go of the breath he had been holding since he had blurted out his demand, and smiled shyly at her.

"And you'll be my boy?" Steve nodded. "Ok. I'll be your girl."

And Charlotte was suddenly shrieking in laughter when Steve took her in his arms and spun her above him, her feet lifted off the ground and everything. He couldn't help himself, then, and brought her down, looking down at her for a few seconds as her laughter subsided into a gentle smile, before his hands moved of their own accord, one gently grabbing the back of her neck, and the other cupping her cheek, a thumb tracing her lower lip, before he tipped his head down and met her lips.

There were no explosions. No fireworks. Just a feeling of not being lonely, of being loved, and a warmth that he had not experienced since he'd been frozen. The kiss was soft, and tentative, just the touching of two shy lips. The kiss was home.

And it was rudely interrupted by a clearing of a throat, and, "I've got your bag."

Steve and Charlotte stepped away from each other slowly, Charlotte sighing, and Steve a cross between embarrassed (he knew he'd turned an unhealthy shade of red) and anger at his time being cut short.

"Thank you, um…"

"Natasha Romanov." The assassin extended her hand for a shake, and Steve had to raise an eyebrow because that meant a lot coming from Natasha.

"Charlotte Owens." She smiled at Natasha, and shook her hand.

"I know," Natasha smirked in an almost threatening way before turning to Steve. "I'll take care of the debriefing. Take her home." And she was gone as silently as she came.

Her nose scrunched up. "Should I be scared?"

"No. I think she likes you." Steve smiled and took her hand, leading her towards the locker rooms so that he could change out of his uniform.

She bumped her shoulders to his. "I like you."

And Steve smiled, because, yes, he very much loved her, but he's tone it down because he wanted to keep her around and not scare her off. He gently bumped her shoulders back, squeezing her hand a little tighter in his. "I like you too."

* * *

This will probably just be a collection of little events in Charlotte's and Steve's lives. It'll remain under a completed status, as I never really know when I will write again.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve and Charlotte had been in a relationship for five months when Steve was first seriously injured in the field. It wasn't his first injury as Captain America (that's is, of course, not counting being frozen for 70 years, because, no, Steve refused to think of that time as being one where he was alive), but it was his first serious injury as Captain America the Avenger, and as Steve Rogers, Charlotte's 'boy'.

He didn't remember much about that time. He distinctly remembered sitting across from Charlotte in her apartment while she typed away an essay on her laptop as he drew her when he got the call to meet up at SHIELD headquarters. He'd frowned, but told Charlotte that he had to go, and that he would call-like always-when he was done. She'd nodded distractedly, told him to have fun and to be safe, all the while her hands kept on typing. So he'd smiled, given her a longing kiss (that had gotten her attention for more than a few seconds) and got himself to headquarters within half an hour.

Half of Brooklyn seemed to be almost leveled to the ground by the time the Avengers congregated to meet their enemy. Except it was not just one person they were fighting. It was an army of alien looking things that Thor tried to explained to the rest but failed to do so when the group was swarmed by them.

That was where Steve went into full Captain America mode, swiftly giving his teammates directions, while communicating with the backup SHIELD agents on where to strike while the Avengers took the brunt of the work. Steve had thought that that would suffice, and that they'd all be done by dinner time. He'd hoped so, anyway, since he had already made plans to drag Charlotte away from her essay and to hopefully get her to eat a decent meal (honestly, Steve could see a lot of Tony Stark's work ethic in his girlfriend).

Except it had suddenly been 8 pm and SHIELD helicopters were atop the battle, providing the Avengers with lighting, as well as the field agents sight so that the fight could be contained to the already damaged city. And Steve was exhausted, and he knew everyone else was too; even the Hulk seemed to be losing interest in all the smashing that yielded no real results.

And then there was white, hot pain on his side. It was dizzying, and the last thing he remembered was hitting the pavement while the com in his ear filled with the voices of Tony and Clint, who seemed to be the only ones to see his fall from their position high above.

He did not wake up until much later, although he was not sure how much time had gone by since that had happened. The first thing he was aware of was the light artificial lighting in the room, the hand holding his, and the tickle of long hair against his arm.

When he opened his eyes, he realized that Charlotte was asleep by his bedside, half of her on a hard, plastic chair, while her upper body rested on his bed, her left hand holding his, her wild, curly hair splayed around her and his arm. Her forehead was pressed against his forearm, and from the little he saw, he could tell that she had not slept well for a while because of the dark bags under her closed eyes, and the general paleness of her appearance. Her hair, too, looked unkempt; not in the usual unruly way that her curls framed her face, but in a knotted, shine-less halo around her. Her clothes, he noticed, were rumpled too, something that was unusual for Charlotte as she liked to look put together on a regular basis, she'd assured him once.

His right side hurt, he noticed a little while later, but he rejected the idea of calling a nurse (because he'd figured he was in a hospital) to let them know of his awakening, as he refused to wake Charlotte up. So he'd laid there, watching her back rise with every breath, and comforted himself with the sounds of her deep breathing.

Steve watched her for about fifteen minutes before he was startled by Charlotte's sharp intake of breath and her vice like grip on his hand. He was struck unable to do anything except watch her as she opened her eyes and took quick breathes to calm herself before she sat herself up (never letting go of his hand) and looked around the room. The hand not holding his came up to her hair to push it away from his face, but became tangled and stayed there when her wide eyes met his.

"Hi," was her breathless greeting. She slowly let her hand fall down and into her lap. Her stare was unwavering, yet her voice held a certain tremor when she said: "you're awake."

Steve nodded, because he was not too sure on what to say. Her brown eyes, usually filled with positive emotions, were suddenly bright and sad. And Steve knew that she would say that she could not put up with this. That she had to let him go. Because what kind of boyfriend was he if he was worrying her like this? He knew he was alright, but he had not been alright between the battle when he'd gotten injured and now. And he knew that he would not always be alright. That there would be more nights and days spent in hospitals, and that maybe one day he would not come back to her. She could not possibly want this for the rest of her life.

There was a long moment of silence, where Charlotte looked at him and he looked at her, but none spoke. Then she did-

"I put on the news after you left. They were on the scene the whole time, filming you guys. I saw when you fell. When that _thing_ plunged that long pointy thing into you. And I saw you blank out. And then they were hauling you into a stretcher and into a black van, and the reporters were saying that it looked like you weren't breathing, and that there was so much blood that you could potentially be dead before they even got you to a doctor. I…I didn't know what to do. I called Tony, but, well, it's not like I have his personal phone number so they just kept taking my messages. And..." He saw as she took a shuddering breath to calm herself, "the news kept saying that you were probably dead. And your teammates weren't being seen out in public, so no one was making a statement on your progress. It was Tony that came out two days later to say that you were recuperating.

"I finally got a hold of Tony. I stayed outside his tower until I saw him come in and had to shout for him to see me, but he did, and he was enraged when he found out SHIELD hadn't told me about you. He yelled at a lot of people to get them to let me see you because SHIELD refused to let a civilian into their hospital…"

The first tear fell down her cheek and Steve watched it streak down her cheek in frozen silence. "I thought you were dead." She mumbled brokenly, and then she was sobbing, deep breaths that caught in her throat and Steve was able to move again.

Against the protest of the pain, he gently guided her so that she sat on the bed with him. He tucked her head underneath his head, one hand tangled in her hair while the other enveloped her from behind. Her hands bunched up against his hospital gown, holding herself against him as sobs shook her body. And all Steve could say was a constant mantra of, "I'm sorry," whispered into her hair.

It took a while for her to stop the shuddering sobs, and a few more moments for those to turn into shuddering breaths against the hallow of his neck, where she had nuzzled into when the sobs had subsided. "I was scared." She mumbled into his neck.

Steve pulled her closer, their bodies as melded together as possible give their positions in the hospital bed. "I'm sorry," was all he was able to say, because he honestly did not know what to tell her. He knew telling her that this would not happen again would be a lie, and he refused to lie to her. Getting injured was part of the job, almost an expected occurrence, really, so how could he promise to never make her be scared again if he knew it would be an empty promise?

Suddenly, Charlotte let go of her firm grip on his gown, her tired eyes meeting his in earnest. "You shouldn't be apologizing. I chose to date you even when I knew that this could happen. I just… it all took me by surprise. If anything, I think it was the media saying that you were probably dead, and the lack of contact with anyone that knew about you that had me terrified. That, and the realization that I hadn't told you that I love you… that I've been past liking you a long time ago, and have been in love with you for a while now but have been unable to say it out loud for fear of scaring you off." She smiled and cut him off when he opened his mouth to respond. "You don't have to say it. I know-"

And he cut her off with a searing kiss, because, really, he loved her too, since that fateful seventh date, and he felt like a fool for not telling her before. He stopped to mumble, "I love you," against her lips before kissing her again.

And soon she was laughing against his lips, and he could do nothing but join her, against the protest of the stitches on his side. "We really need to brush our teeth." She told him with a brilliant grin.

"I don't know, I have an excuse. What's yours?" Steve teased because they'd known each other long enough, and they were in a relationship, and, darn it, they were in love.

Charlotte groaned but smiled nonetheless. "I brushed them this morning, I swear! It's just I fell asleep and well, if we're planning on keeping this up, you're going to have to eventually get used to the dog breath every morning."

Steve should have turned red and stumble with his words at the implications behind her words, but he couldn't. He really was looking forward to morning breath if it meant it'd be Charlotte he was waking up next to. "I look forward to it, then."

Charlotte smiled shyly at this, her cheeks, which had looked pale in her sleep, gained some redness at his statement. It really amazed Steve how she could be brash about some things, say things that were 'awkward,' as she put it, without even batting an eyelash, yet she would flush a pretty pink when he would turn the tables. It was adorable, Steve could admit.

"So…um, should I get a doctor, or something? You're not in pain, are you? I'm sorry, I was so caught up in sobbing like a child that I totally forgot about your injury."

"I'm alright. I don't think I need-"

"And he's awake! And on the third day, he shall rise! Yes, no? That's what the book says, right?" Tony burst through the door in his typical fashion, a tablet in one hand while the other held a vase overflowing with yellow roses, a 'Get Well,' card pinned to the glass.

"He was out for five days, Stark," Natasha deadpanned as she entered the room after Tony, a stack of magazines in her hands.

"We come bearing gifts, my friend!" And that was Thor, who had joined them for the time being, it seemed. Nestle between his arms and chest were an assortment of bending machine snack bags. "My apologies, for the Man of Iron forgot to mention we were bringing gifts. I am afraid I only have these to share for the time being."

"It's like the three magi," Charlotte said and Steve chuckled.

"Oh, come on! I welcome you back with a reference that I knew you would definitely get and you don't even blink!" Tony groaned. "Honestly, that's very ungrateful of you."

"I understood it, Tony, although I'm not entirely sure you phrased it well. Thank you, though," Steve smiled again.

"Did he do the Bible reference? He's been practicing that for the last three days, even when we told him you wouldn't think it hilarious," Clint said as he came into the room, a paper bag full of what smelled like burgers in his hands, and Steve was suddenly aware of how hungry he was.

"We missed it?" Bruce piped, a tray of hospital food with him. He made his way over to Steve, "Eat this before you eat the burgers." He instructed, placing the tray of pathetically colorless food on his lap when Charlotte stood from his side on the bed. Steve almost frowned at the loss of warmth, but Charlotte patted his knee in acknowledgment as she made towards Tony to take the vase from him.

"The cheesy flowers are for Cap. Tablet's for you, though. I expect you to throw away that_ thing _I saw you using the other day," Steve heard Tony tell Charlotte, and he smiled. That was Tony accepting people, Pepper had once told him. Apparently, insulting technology that did not have Stark's name printed on it, and a gift of actual Stark technology was Tony's warped way of accepting a friendship.

"It's a Sanders tablet, for your information. And it's very reliable, sometimes. You just didn't catch it on a good day," Charlotte replied, not taking the outstretched tablet.

"Oh, please. First of all, I'm pretty sure it's the oldest model the company even has out. Actually, no, I'm 100 percent sure that they don't even make such outdated technology anymore. Secondly, the _thing_ needs wi-fi to even perform the most basic functions, so, yeah, I'm pretty sure I caught it on a fairly decent day considering that all of SHIELD's technology is provided by Stark Industries, so the wi-fi was certainly perfect at the time. And thirdly, I will gladly accept your gratitude for my kind gesture. So, you're welcome."

Charlotte's brown eyes narrowed, "I've just dropped it a few times. It's why it's slow to begin with. Also, I bought it with three years' worth of savings when I was in high school, and I'd rather not part with something that is still functioning and that took such a long time for me to obtain," here, Steve could see her eyes softening, " But thanks, anyway. It was very kind of you." Her words sounded sincere.

Steve understood what she was saying. In the months that he had known her, he'd come to realize that she was very appreciative of what she had. Her laptop, for example, had a crack on the edge of the screen, made a dangerous wheeze when turned on, and had to be rebooted at least once a week because of a virus. Yet Charlotte refused to part with it because she had worked every single day after school, and every weekend her senior year in high school as well as the summer after in order to pay for it. Her present resources did not leave much money for a new laptop, either, and she'd told him that her parents were already having problems getting her brothers supplies for the school year to begin with, so she would not ask for help. When he'd arrived at her apartment with the laptop Tony had given him a while back and that he did not particularly use, she'd frowned and turned it away, saying that she would manage with Magnus (her laptop's name) for the time being. He would have insisted she take it had he not seen the offended look in her eyes.

Tony scoffed and Steve almost stopped him before he said, "Three years' worth of savings and that's all you could get? Not even one of those fruity tablets?" Tony scoffed, but pushed the tablet into her hands, "Take it. Seriously."

Charlotte's chin was tense, and her eyes were narrowed once more, and Steve knew that was her mad face. "I said, no thank you. You've helped me enough with Steve, and I can't even begin to imagine how I'm going to repay you for that. I can't take the tablet. Seriously." She pushed the tablet away from her and towards Tony once more

"Tony, drop it." Bruce interjected when he saw Tony open his mouth to object. "Obviously, you're both stubborn and no one is going to win the argument. Charlotte, just take the tablet. It's Tony's stupid and confusing way of saying he likes you and you're friends now. Tony, stop criticizing."

There was a long pause in which everyone stared at the Tony and Charlotte. It was a tense few seconds before Charlotte's posture seemed to deflate and she sent Steve a quick look. He gave her a small smile and a raised eyebrow, to which she responded with a sigh and a small smile of her own.

"Thank you," She took the tablet from Tony with a sincere smile. "But I'm not throwing the other one away. I can think of people that would kill to have my crappy old Sanders."

"Maybe a museum." Tony snorted but without real malice.

"Maybe." And then Charlotte was sporting a small smirk, her eyes teasing, "So, we're friends now?"

"As if." Tony responded, but smiled anyway.

That's when Steve remembered that he had not properly introduced her to Thor and Clint before. Or anyone, really, since in the five months that they'd been in a relationship he had not properly introduced them to his teammates. It wasn't because he didn't think they had anything serious going on. It was really just that he was scared of introducing her to Captain America's life and putting her in potential danger. The least she knew about his alter ego, the better her chances of not getting involved were. But he supposed his present injury proved his plan to be wrong. If he had only introduced her properly to his teammates, than maybe she would have been the first contacted of his injury, and she would not have had to go through what she did in order to get to his bedside. So he cut into the middle of the conversation Tony and Charlotte had sprouted about some of the functions of the tablet.

"I don't think I've properly introduced Charlotte to everyone, so-"

"We're way past that, Captain. We've had three days to interact." Clint grinned, handing him a burger wrapped in plastic. "Kind of disappointed we hadn't met her before. What, are we embarrassing you now?"

Charlotte chuckled. "I think it's me he's more embarrassed of. I even embarrass myself at least once a day, and most of those moments happen in his presence."

Tony quickly responded, "That's sad, Cap, even I know that's not how to treat a lady. Not letting her meet the teammates just because she's embarrassing-"

"So sad, Steve. I'm hurt, really, I thought I was your girl-"

"Gosh, Cap, I think Charlotte's gonna cry-" Tony turned to Charlotte, "I think you should cry."

"Oh, I'm getting there."

Steve groaned. "You're my girl! You're supposed to take my side." But Steve was just glad and happy that they all seemed to get along. He was relieved, too, that Charlotte seemed to fit right in with the group; especially with Tony, whom he knew she had had only a few, but very rocky, interactions with. "You two should not have ever met."

"'Cause I'm embarrassing, right?"


End file.
